On Tuesday, Democrats blocked the Republican effort to win quick approval for a bill that would provide $14.3B in emergency aid to Israel that passed the House of Representatives last week but offers no assistance for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Democrats objected, stressing the importance of providing aid to both Ukraine and Israel, in addition to humanitarian aid, border security funding, and money to push back against China in the Indo-Pacific that was included in a $106B funding request that President Joe Biden sent to Congress last month.
“Our allies in Ukraine can no more afford a delay than our allies in Israel,” said Senator Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. Last week, the White House had said Biden would veto the House bill.